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We can, but we won’t

I recall voting Liberal in the 2001 provincial election and for years now, I’ve been wondering what led me to that regretful choice. Perhaps, I suffered early onset of age-related intellectual impairment but I prefer to believe there were other causes. In search of those, I read through the BC Liberal 2001 Platform. I suspected it would provide clues and it did.

It turns out my error was one of naivety. My mistake was believing what the Liberals said. I provide here a number of their promises and little editorial comment is required. I’ve held back items related to health and child welfare because those subjects deserve separate attention. What do you think readers, did he work wonders?

It’s time for a New Era of Accountability. Our plan will deliver real transparent, accountable government.

Our Vision: The most open, accountable and democratic government in Canada.

Establish workable initiative legislation, to make it feasible for British Columbians to call for a referendum on issues of province-wide concern that fall within the provincial government’s jurisdiction.

Establish workable recall legislation, to make it easier for citizens to hold MLAs accountable.

Give all MLAs and citizens a better voice in government through active legislative committees.

Hold open Cabinet meetings at least once a month that are televised and broadcast live on the Internet.

Give all government MLAs a meaningful new role in policy development and service planning through a new system of Cabinet decision-making.

Introduce free votes in the Legislature, to allow all MLAs to vote freely on behalf of their constituents on all matters not speciﬁcally identiﬁed as a vote of conﬁdence.

Not sell or privatize BC Rail.

Vigorously defend the Crown’s ownership of provincial land and resources.

Protect BC Hydro and all of core assets, including dams, reservoirs and power lines under public ownership.

Pass a Living Rivers Act to protect and improve BC’s river systems with scientiﬁcally-based standards for watershed management, enhancements to ﬁsh habitat, and a 10-year program to correct past damage.

Push for provincial control over the management and revenues of BC’s offshore ﬁsheries, to improve ﬁsheries management and protect ﬁshery jobs.

Of course you may take the list. There will be a part two later because health and child services deserve special treatment. The important thing to remember is these are Liberals words in the promises. I shortened but did not add.

Shocking is it not? I would love to see a party member honestly defend the changes.

Another thing that many forger is that there was a sense of winding down the NDP administration, a mandate that had started in 1991 with hop for a more equitable and rational administration and which ended with the de-linkng of jobs from forest tenures, vain attempts to convince a recalcitrant business community that the party was friendly to their interests while riding close herd on its core labour constituency. It's interesting to follow the further adventures of the then-Premier Ujjal Dosanj, a man whose struggles within the Sikh community spoke of courage, but whose subsequent trajectory is replete with compromises with power for personal advancement. Hence, a lot of the votes that Campbell got, were actually more properly votes that the NDP didn't get, a textbook case of negative voting, much as was the election that brought Stephen Harper to power. The writing was on the wall in 2001: the NDP was going down, and they needed to go down, but it was a real mug's game for anyone who had even an inkling of what sort of a sneering and self-serving man Gordon Campbell has always been. He has consistently treated the electors of the province as idiots, and we have certainly obliged.

Until we the electorate understand and commit to the idea that representative government requires the resources necessary to get elected and that these resources need to come from you, the person wanting a true representation of their ideology we will remain polarized with the left and right, whichever manifestation they currently portray as their ideology dejure(funny how the business and union sides can quickly convert to environmentalism when votes are at stake). The truth is, money pulls the strings and we need to pull our heads out of the sand and understand the consequences of doing nothing. Put your money where your heart is. Elect independents if you feel they have your best interest at heart. Support them as best you can with finances or time or both.

We're on to them. Christy and her ridiculous families first campaign is a clear example. She doesn't give a shit about families and we all know it, she knows it, but her handlers use it because it worked in the past.

Campbell worked for Harper. BC is a shattered mess, stripped down to the bare bones. Never will I ever vote Liberal. Nor will I vote Conservative. The BC Liberals and the BC Conservatives, are one and the same party. So, I don't doubt, the BC Liberals, will go over to the Conservatives.

The NDP have a strong team. I like Dix, Horgan and Farnsworth. I think it's about time now, to start reading up, and make a decision. At least I know, who I'm not going to vote for.

When only about 22% of the actual BC electorate actually voted for the BC Liberals, our entire democratic, or what is left of it, process has been horribly abused by those with money and power.

We live in an age where deceit and corruption has become common place and political deceit and corruption are endemic in our political system.

Lying to get elected is the new election gimmick and all political parties stoop at this level.

Instead of the BC Liberals and Gordon Campbell protecting the peoples assets, he open up shop and sold as much as he could to corporate friends at firesale prices. Even in third world countries, this sort of corruption would not be tolerated.

But BC voters who suffer from the anti-communist/socialist syndrome, vote for the Liberals or not vote at all.

Even the NDP must share the blame, by rigorously sticking to their racist anti-white male policies have let the Liberals get elected.

We suffer the Liberals because the NDP are too juvenile, to self centred to be elected.

Evil Eye, be sure to follow the link on a coming story and read the 40 year old document that laid out a road map of manipulation by big business. It was written by Lewis Powell, before Nixon appointed him to the Supreme Court.

Well, he worked wonders for his future which came in the form of a Federal Conservative appointment.Gordon Campbell was an opportunist long before he was Mayor of Vancouver and long after he became a drunk tank candidate re-elect.The biggest problem wasn't his platform or the HST, it's the inability of BC to come up with a leader who actually leads with the primary focus on BC instead of his own future. BC has had a never ending problem with government leaders from all political affiliations who simply can't ignore big business influence. Campaign funding should be outlawed along with fund raising dinners hosted by big business. All political parties have some form of big business influencing which costs the taxpayers of BC far too much.

I confess (and this is hard to say), I voted for them in 2001. Yes, I took them at their word. I had some crazy notion that these promises mean something. It's embarrassing in retrospect. However, at least I did not repeat the mistake in successive elections. By then they had shown their true colours. Fool me once… I see this stuff now, and I wonder, “What on earth was I thinking?!”

It's instructive, if humbling, to see this stuff again. Thanks for posting it, Norm.

Wasting money on destructive energy projects makes zero sense when there are better alternatives. British Columbia is spending billions on Site C. It could suspend the project today and have less harmful and cheaper sources of clean power operational by the time more electricity is needed.

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Check out the fine work on electoral reform by Merv Adey 2018 fellowship recipient Andrew Seal. It’s a fabulous five part series published by The Tyee. We’d like to raise additional funds to initiate the next fellowship. You can be sure it will support a comprehensive examination of a subject important to all British Columbians.